Birds of a Feather
by alchemic-rose
Summary: Basically, the Strilonde group Jake are birdkids and Dave is an assbutt. Plus Jade gets involved with the flock and dangerous antics ensue. Hinted davejade, and dirkjake, maybe some other ships. (this is basically a Maximum Ride AU) T for language and possible death(s)


Wind whistled through the tall skyscrapers that crowned New York, the orange glow of the perpetual city lights reflecting against the ever constant cover of smog and clouds. A figure knelt perched at the edge of multi-storied complex, braced against the ever flowing buffets of air. A particularly strong gust flipped back the hood that shrouded the figures head, exposing shaggy, pale blond hair to the chilly night air. Not taking his gaze from the bustle on the ground, the figure grasped the edges of the flapping hood to pull it about his head once more. A worn red keffiyeh scarf obscured the lower half of his face, trapping his warm breath to his body. Gloved hands fingered haphazardly at a worn tassel as his eyes remained fixated on the ground far below. He exhaled with a sigh, hot breath briefly fogging up the lenses of his goggles that rested loosely on his nose.

The shrouded figure remained intently gazing at the ground for an unmeasured amount of minutes before moving again, this time leaning forward to gain a better viewpoint. Fidgeting fingers ceased and a smile grew beneath the scarf.

_Bingo_

Hands were brought up quickly to the straps on either side of his face, securing his goggles with a tug before his crouch shifted from a position of waiting to one of action. The rubber soles of his converse scratched against the concrete as he leaped, launching himself head first over the edge of the building, flinging his body into the blustery void. Air roared in his ears as he picked up speed, his heart racing with adrenaline as the lights rushed toward him. He drew near to his target, a hot dog cart with its umbrella down, rack full of streaming bratwurst. Recklessly he kept his accelerated pace, relishing in the feeling of free fall a moment longer before snapping out his wings. His tendons strained as his feathers caught air and his direct fall translated into a high speed dive. He swooped past the cart, swiping an armful of the top rack of food and shot back up into the black sky. He heard a cry of surprise from the cart tender behind him and let out a bursting laugh.

_Old sucker didn't even see what hit him._

Using the updrafts that swirled about the buildings he banked up to the right as he tucked away two of the blistering warm brats in his pockets, and the rest in the pouch slung over his shoulder. He kept to the shadows of the buildings, high enough not to be clearly spotted from below as he made his way back to the current "roost". Most of the bright lights faded out behind him as he made his way into to shadier part of the city, soaring over the conundrum of apartment buildings that sprawled out below him. Finally he faced the modest brick complex that was his current "home", which housed a good number of wretched beings on the lower levels and a whole different flock at the top. He backpedaled, slowing himself down as he came in to land on the roof, running a few paces before coming to a halt. He half-folded his wings, letting them cool down in the chill night air as he caught his breath; slipping a hand in his pocket as he walked towards the steps that led down to their apartment. He smiled.

_Still hot_.

He retracted his wings fully underneath his jacket as he took the steps two by two down the narrow hallway to the penthouse level below. He pushed open the door and sauntered into the open space. Since the upper half was deemed condemned, the place was barely furnished, having already been picked out by past visitors. One wall was completely made up of windows, glass shattered now, which made the narrow patio for an excellent take off point. The water still worked, the electricity though was shut off and no amount of his brother's half-assed attempt to tinker with it changed the status of that. _"We aren't staying here for long anyways" _was his reasoning.

He loosened his goggles and slid them up to his head as he walked into the conjoined room which led to a larger outdoor patio.

"Out late again…"

The statement came from the seated figure near the edge of the platform, one wing extended forward with fingers running meticulously through the pale feathers.

The blonde shrugged, flipping back his hood.

"So? I bring tidings of delicious joy. Catch."

He tossed one of the foil wrapped brats towards his brother, who stopped his preening to twist at the waist and catch it.

He sat down next to the other blonde, removing the bag from his shoulder and taking out the other warm bundle from his pocket. He pointed at the bag before peeling off the wrapper.

"There's more in there for everyone."

"Where the fuck did you get these, Dave."

"Where do you think?"

"Dave."

"Dirk."

"Where you fucking out "dive bombing" again?"

"So? The fuck it matters, eat your brat before it gets cold."

"How many fucking time do I have to tell you Dave."

"None! I got this shit down! I-"

"This shit is from the upper part of town, don't even try to lie to me Dave! There are fucking cameras ev-"

"Oh my god Dirk! No one fucking saw me! It's dark, in the middle of the fucking night, I'm wearing black and I am too fast for those shitty cameras! I know what I'm doing, can I just get a fucking 'thank you'!?"

A few beats of terse silence except for the whistling wind and the crinkle of foil passed as Dave glared at his brother in the dark. Dirk held his gaze then exhaled in a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry Dave…" he averted his gaze and unwrapped the foil from the food before continuing, "Thanks… it's been a while since we've had anything good."

Dirk took a bite then rested hand on his thigh, bringing the other up to the side of his head to rub his temple.

"I'm just… so fucking worried after last time-"

"It won't happen again."

Dave's quick answer cut through the tense air, and Dirk glanced at him. Dave's gaze was directed in front of him, off in the darkness. He bowed his head as he repeated under his breath.

"I swear it won't happen again."

Back in the brightly lit city, a girl stood in her room, facing the large windows that filtered in the bright city lights. In all her years of traveling with her grandfather, coming to stay in the city was the least favorite of her places to stay. It was always noisy, you couldn't see the stars, and the wildlife was a contest between how fat the pigeons could get or how oddly the dogs were dressed! She was so grateful that her grandpa had established a roof garden for her, but it could never compare to the jungles and forests that she so loved to traverse!

The lights of the city had been screwing with her sleeping schedule as usual, so she had been taking up her time photographing a cute family of bats which had taken up residence in one of the deep stone recesses of the building she lived in. She pushed her large round glasses back up the bridge of her nose as she scrolled through the pictures she had taken that night on her camera. She smiled at the cute little faces and was now looking at some of the pictures she had snapped while a few where flying. A few turned out ok, but most of them seemed to be pretty blurry. She flipped to the next one and paused, looking closely at the photo. It was pretty blurry alright, the bat was way to the left of the frame, but what was that other thing to the right? She brushed back her dark bangs and peered again, zooming in on the dark blur. It… didn't look like a bat, oh no, it was much too big. And the shape of the wings looked more avian, then winged mammal… But…. She stood, transfixed at the zoomed photo, not sure if her sleepiness was deceiving her or not as to what she was seeing. It almost looked like the large weird bird had a human face and shape! She laughed at herself a bit. Now she was _definitely_ tired, seeing silly things like that. She shut off her camera, placing it on her desk and walked back into her room, tightly drawing the curtains shut.

"I'll just look at the pictures again tomorrow…."


End file.
